Today in Patriots History
Sayonara to Patrick Sullivan
January 29, 1991:
Patrick Sullivan resigns from his position as general manager. The move was not unexpected as owner
Victor Kiam blamed Sullivan for fallout from the
Lisa Olsen incident, and had already hired
Sam Jankovich as CEO of the Patriots, with complete control of football operations.
January 29, 2020:
DE
Larry Eisenhauer passes away at the age of 79.
Larry Eisenhauer, a standout defensive lineman for Boston College and the Boston Patriots, died Wednesday in Jupiter, Fla., the Patriots said. He was 79.
Nicknamed “Wildman” by his Patriots teammates, Eisenhauer played nine years in the AFL (1961-69), all with Boston. He was a four-time AFL All-Star and was named to the Patriots’ 1960s all-decade team. The 6-foot-5-inch, 250-pounder from Hicksville, N.Y., was inducted into the BC Athletic Hall of Fame in 1978.
After suffering a knee injury in 1967, Eisenhauer played two more seasons with the Patriots before retiring in 1970. In retirement, he focused on his role as owner and operator of Data Metal Company, a computer hardware business in Boston.
Aug 13, 1967: L-R: Tom Addison, Bob Dee and Larry Eisenhauer (72) stew over a preseason loss to the Baltimore Colts.
The game was the first time the Patriots ever played an NFL team.
Swimming naked with his father at the hotel pool in San Diego prior to the 1963 AFL championship,
and knocking out Pablo from the Rex Trailer Show are just the beginning of the Legend of Larry Eisenhauer
Read more about RIP to 'The Wild Man,' Patriots Legend Larry Eisenhauer on https://www.barstoolsports.com/
www.barstoolsports.com
January 29, 1969:
Day Two (rounds 13-17) of the 1969 common draft, as the joint draft between the two leagues was referred to back then.
Considering how many others were selected before them it is not a surprise that none of those five players from #318 overall to #422 - Alcorn A&M LB Joe Leasy, Clemson LB John Cagle, Tulsa RB Brant Conley, Adams State (Colorado) LB Jim Vuono, and Grambling LB George Muse - ever played in the NFL.
January 29, 1971:
Day Two of the 1971 NFL Draft was not as productive as the previous day, when the Pats selected Jim Plunkett and Julius Adams.
The Patriots did grab Tulsa fullback
Josh Ashton in round nine; he would go on to play in 38 games with 20 starts for the Pats. Florida A&M receiver Alfred Sykes got on the field for four games, but the seven others never played a down in the NFL.
January 29, 1975:
Day Two of the 1975 NFL Draft.
There is no noteworthy comment of the eight players drafted by the Pats in rounds 11-17, as none of them ever proceeded to play in the NFL.
January 29, 1966:
HB
Ron Burton is traded to the Chiefs for P/LB
Jim Fraser
Fraser was a punter/linebacker who spent one season with the Pats; he played for the Broncos, Chiefs, Patriots and Saints from 1962 to 1968. He started three games for Boston as LB, and had 55 punts over the 14-game season in '66.
Ron Burton Bio - Patriots.com - Nov 3, 2014
Ron was drafted No. 1 by three pro teams including the Boston Patriots of the newly formed American Football League, the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles and the Rough Riders of the Canadian Football league in Ottawa, Canada. He finished 10th in the balloting for the Heisman Trophy.
Over Ron's Patriot career from 1960 through 1966, he had 1,536 yards rushing and 429 carries for a 3.6 yard average. He led the Patriots in rushing in 1962, and remains the 14th all-time leading Patriot rusher. Ron was the first Patriot ever to rush for over a 100 yards in a single game and until 1983, he held the rookie single game rushing record of 127 yards set in 16 carries against Denver on October 23, 1960.
In 1962, Ron established himself as one of the AFL's premier running back putting up big numbers; 1,449 total yards running, receiving and on kick returns. He was voted to the second AFL All-Star team. Ron finished fourth in the league in rushing that year, leading the Patriots in that category.
In a 24-23 win over Denver, Ron set an NFL record for the longest missed field goal return and it remains a Patriot record for the longest missed field goal returned for a touchdown. In 1962, he scored 42 points and seven touchdowns.
Patriot head coach Mike Holovak wrote a book titled "Violence Every Sunday" about the first six years of the Patriots franchise. Holovak says, "Burton would have been one of the all-time greats, but he was unlucky physically. Everything happened to him."
Ron would agree he was unlucky. He missed almost two entire seasons due to injuries including a back injury in 1963 from which no other pro athlete had ever recovered and played again in the same season. Ron was traded to Kansas City for Jim Frazier on January 29, 1966 and retired after the 1966 pre-season.
January 29, 1998:
Ernie Zampese is hired as Offensive Coordinator
The renowned OC worked for the Patriots for two seasons. He is most well known for being San Diego's OC during the
Air Coryell era, and for being the Dallas OC the last time the Cowboys won a Super Bowl.
Ernie Zampese isn’t going to come in and build the Patriots offense in his own image. He won’t have to — it’s his to begin with. Zampese was hired as Patriots offensive coordinator Thursday, replacing Larry Kennan.…
www.courant.com
Ernie Zampese, whose innovative offensive philosophy and emphasis on the passing game was decades ahead of its time, has died at the age of 86.
www.nbcsports.com
Ernie Zampese, offensive coordinator for the Chargers' "Air Coryell" attack and for the Cowboys' Super Bowl XXX title team, died Monday at 86.
www.espn.com
January 29, 2000:
Johnny Parker is fired as Strength and Conditioning Coach
Parker was part of four teams that made it to the super bowl, winning three times - twice with the Giants, once with the Bucs, plus with the Pats team that lost to the Packers. He is in the USA Strength and Conditioning Coaches Hall of Fame, but sometimes wore out his welcome for unknown reasons. For example, Tampa Bay fired him after just one season, after they won Super Bowl 37.
Parker was the Pats strength and conditioning coach for seven seasons, from 1993-99.
After meeting with the assistant coaches individually on Friday, Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick informed strength and conditioning coach Johnny Parker that he was free to seek employment elsewhere.
www.patriots.com
It may be the NFL offseason, but for hardcore football fans live action is just around the corner as NFL Europe opens training camp on February 24.
www.patriots.com
Two Bucs assistant coaches will have to receive their Super Bowl XXXVII rings in the mail.
www.tampabay.com
January 29, 2014:
Brendan Daly is hired as a Defensive Assistant Coach
Daly has worked as a coach at the high school level (1997), college (1998-2005) and NFL (2006-present). He served as a defensive assistant for the Pats in 2014, and defensive line coach from 2015-2018. Daly has been with the Chiefs since then, and is currently their linebackers coach.
The New England Patriots haven’t hired new linebackers or tight ends coaches yet, but they do have a new defensive assistant. The Patriots hired Brendan Daly as a defensive assistant coach Wednesday. Daly was the Minnesota Vikings’ defensive line coach in 2012 and 2013. Daly also worked with the...
nesn.com
Three 1/29 New England birthday connections:
Bill Nelsen (1941 - 2019)
Patriots QB Coach
The QB from USC was a backup with Pittsburgh from 1963-67, then became a starter with Cleveland, going 34-15-1 from 1968-71.
Nelsen got his start in coaching with the Patriots as their QB coach from 1973-74.
He was later the OC with Atlanta and Detroit, and QB coach for Tampa Bay.
Alex Albright, 33 (1988)
Boston College
Linebacker played in 30 games for the Cowboys from 2011-2012.
Seth DeValve, 32 (1993)
Born and raised in Manchester CT; Manchester High School
Tight end for the Browns, Jaguars and Arizona from 2016-20, playing in 57 games with four touchdowns.
Other NFL January 29 Trivia:
January 29, 2023: 2022 AFCCG - Bengals 27, Chiefs 24 in OT
Cincinnati overcomes a 21-3 deficit - tying the largest AFCCG comeback - and intercept Patrick Mahomes three plays into overtime to set up a game-winning 31-yard field goal.
The Cincinnati Bengals beat the Kansas City Chiefs 27-24 in overtime in Sunday's AFC Championship game to advance to the Super Bowl.
apnews.com
January 29, 2023: 2022 NFCCG - Eagles 31, 49ers 7
SF lost rookie starting QB Brock Purdy to an elbow injury in the first quarter but had to bring him back in the 2nd half, despite the obvious injury, after 4th-string QB Josh Johnson suffered a concussion. Purdy begaan the season as the 49ers 3rd-string QB, but became the starter after season-ending injuries to Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo. Earlier in the year Purdy became the only QB in his first career start to beat Tom Brady, when the 49ers defeated the Bucs 35-7.
Top-seeded Eagles rush for four touchdowns and overwhelm injury-plagued 49ers for a spot in Super Bowl 57.
www.usatoday.com
January 29, 1995: 1994 NFL Championship, aka Super Bowl 29 - 49ers 29, Chargers 6
San Francisco become the first franchise to win five Super Bowls, and Steve Young finally gets the monkey off his back for his first Super Bowl win. Young threw six touchdown passes; three to Jerry Rice and two to RB Ricky Waters. The game was a rout right from the bginning, with the 49ers bolting out to a 14-0 lead four minutes into the game, scoring twice on their first seven plays. The Niners have not won a Super Bowl in the thirty years since.
At approximately—no, check that—at exactly one minute and 24 seconds into the first quarter of Super Bowl XXIX at Miami's Joe Robbie Stadium, everybody knew
vault.si.com
RIP
Tom Brookshier - died Jan 29, 2010 at the age of 78
Before he began his broadcasting career in 1962, Brookshier was a pro Bowl CB for the Eagles from 1953-1961.
The former star defensive back for the Eagles, who later worked with Pat Summerall on CBS’s lead N.F.L. announcing team, died of cancer Friday at age 78.
archive.nytimes.com
RIP
Night Train Lane - died Jan 29, 2002 at the age of 73
After being abandoned by a dumpster at three months old by his pimp father and prostiute mother, Lane burst on the NFL season as a rookie in 1952, with 14 interceptions - when the NFL only played 12 games a year. The CB went on to a Hall of Fame career that included seven Pro Bowls. Despite playing in an era with much shorter seasons and less passing, he still ranks fourth all time in NFL history with 68 career interceptions.
https://www.profootballhof.com/players/****-night-train-lane/
Happy 57th Birthday to
Aeneas Williams, born Jan 29, 1968 in New Orleans
Eight-time Pro Bowl CB had 55 interceptions from 1991 to 2004, and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2014, despite never playing for good teams (Cardinals, Rams).
Happy 61st Birthday to
Andre Reed, born Jan 29, 1964 in Allentown PA
WR went to seven consecutive Pro Bowls during the Marv Levy/Jim Kelly era with Buffalo, and was also inducted to the Hall of Fame in 2014. When he retired his 951 career receptions ranked second all-time in NFL history.
